# Best Television Show Ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004 "2002-05-03T04:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/21 "2002-05-03T17:34:03Z")
I think THE SIMPSONS and MASH are much better shows than SEINFELD. Personally, I can’t stand the SEINFELD characters. I find them annoying beyond belief. The show generated some good buzz and some funny lines (“double dipping,” “No Soup for you!” “Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” etc.) but basically didn’t go beyond that. THE SIMPSONS and MASH are both beautifully written and executed. They have depth and meaning beyond the surface script. And they’re both very funny. These are classic shows that will play forever. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/22 "2002-05-03T17:36:10Z")
Twin Peaks, no question about it. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/23 "2002-05-03T18:34:38Z")
Gotta be Mystery Science Theater 3000 for me. How many shows are going to make references to Estes Kefauver and scatological humor? Not enough, baby. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/24 "2002-05-03T19:16:56Z")
Well my favs are done and done, but my list is: 1. Hill Street Blues (anyone who hasn’t seen it, or doesn’t remember it, should check out the Bravo reruns – the show is 20 years old and yet it is still better than anything else on television). 2. M_A_S\*H 3. Barney Miller They don’t make 'em like they used to. And T.V. Guide Magazine is in serious danger of running out of lists to use as cover stories. I’m sure the “Top 50 Failed Pilots” issue is just around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/25 "2002-05-03T19:20:20Z")
1. The Simpsons 2. I Love Lucy 3. Sex in the City 4. That 70’s Show 5. Malcolm in the Middle How can Seinfeld possibly top The Simpsons? That’s just crazy talk. I like Seinfeld, but I’ve never thought it was one of the best shows in TV. Top 20, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/26 "2002-05-03T19:38:50Z")
I’ll vote for **All In The Family,** Alex. Funny _and_ thought-provoking – who’da thunk it? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/27 "2002-05-03T20:05:06Z")
The Simpsons and Hill Street Blues redefined the way stories were told on TV. Dick Van Dyke was probably the best concepted and written sitcom of all time. Mary Tyler Moore was the best sitcom of all time, period. Any way you want to group those as the top 4 is okay with me. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/28 "2002-05-03T20:09:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Calliope \* > \*\*I Love Lucy is without a doubt the best show ever. So there. \*\* I have to agree. I have had foreign visitors who speak no English rolling on the floor laughing at the show. I have seen kids of all ages laughing at this show today. Having seen every episode so often, I don’t even have to turn around and face the tv to tell you where all the characters are standing/seated…but I still find the show fresh and funny. There are a lot of other good shows but I will be surprised if any of them hold up for 30/40/50 years or more…although the Honeymooners has come close. ---
**Author:** ![EVO95](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@EVO95](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EVO95)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/29 "2002-05-03T20:12:53Z")
Hands down: The Andy Griffith show (B&W episodes only) ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/30 "2002-05-03T20:28:06Z")
I still prefer to watch **Cheers** reruns over _Dharma_ and _Wil_l. And I laugh out loud at least one during every **Everyone Loves Raymond** show. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/31 "2002-05-03T22:02:21Z")
**Twilight Zone** (even including the ones with William Shatner) ---
**Author:** ![HoldenCaulfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@HoldenCaulfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldenCaulfield)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/32 "2002-05-03T23:21:18Z")
The real answer has probably already been mentioned, but I had to add Police Squad! ---
**Author:** ![Eran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Eran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eran)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/33 "2002-05-03T23:25:47Z")
Most realistic show ever: Homicide. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/34 "2002-05-04T01:05:06Z")
X-Files would have been ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/35 "2002-05-04T01:06:45Z")
maybe ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/36 "2002-05-04T03:06:10Z")
I agree with everything **The Scrivener** said about Hill Street Blues, but I still have to give it the #2 spot. #1? Sesame Street. No question about it. This show not only taught me to read, it taught me rudimentary Spanish. The best children’s show ever – no, the best show ever, period. It’s gone a bit downhill lately from what I’ve seen, but that doesn’t detract from its glory days one bit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/37 "2002-05-04T04:16:47Z")
That’s all right, MsWhatsit, although it occurred to me that in a strange way Hill Street could be a sequel to Sesame Street… …i.e., kids who grow up watching Sesame Street were more likely to be fans of Hill Street (although less likely to live there)! Heck, I was just thinking about how much I’d love to see reruns of “The Muppet Show”. So many great characters there! Talk about a show that works on more than one level… the kids can laugh at some things; their parents, the ways the celeb guests are sending up themselves, among other things… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/38 "2002-05-04T04:46:54Z")
I think it’s necessary to have at least two lists. How can you compare sitcoms with dramas? I’ve liked a number of sitcoms over the years, but given a choice between a sitcom and a drama, I’ll go for the drama every time. However, any drama program I really like will always have an element of humor. My favorite American sitcom is “MASH”. My favorite British sitcom is “The Good Neighbors”. My all time favorite show is “Babylon 5”. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/39 "2002-05-04T05:18:15Z")
I always thought of MASH as a 50/50 mixture of sitcom and drama. I suppose most would say it’s a sitcom. If it WAS a sitcom, I think it’s one of the best due to there being a huge amount of seriousness alongside comedy… and it wasn’t “silly” like many sitcoms. Good choice though. ---
**Author:** ![Cheswolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@Cheswolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheswolf)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004/40 "2002-05-04T06:15:20Z")
Got my vote for Northern Exposure for first and The Victor of Dibly a close second [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-television-show-ever/107004.md?page=3)